WOMEN ON SUBS ‘VERY SUCCESSFUL’

About 20 expected to report each year, commander says

The commander of U.S. Navy submarine forces said Thursday the integration of women into the undersea world is “very successful” and signaled that he is getting close to a recommendation on whether all submarines will be opened to women, including the small, tight-quarters attack subs in San Diego.

So far, 24 female officers have reported for submarine duty since the Navy in 2010 announced it would accept women on the largest of U.S. subs.

An additional 10 will graduate from the submarine officer basic course this year, and in the following years the Navy expects to see about 20 women reporting to subs annually, Vice Adm. John Richardson said in a conference call with reporters.

After women began serving on U.S. warships in the mid-1990s, the only Navy jobs closed to them were submarines and SEAL units. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus has said he wants to see all naval roles open to women, though he has suggested that the physical demands of elite Sea-Air-Land training might make it unfeasible for females.

The 360-foot fast-attack submarines at Point Loma Naval Base are significantly smaller than the ballistic-missile and guided-missile subs, both measuring 560 feet, on which women now serve.

The cost of retrofitting the smaller vessels for women has been the reason given for not opening them to females.

Richardson said he plans to move “as briskly as we can” to assess how the change has worked so far, in order to make a recommendation on future integration. Male-and-female crews are only recently back from their first six months of deployments, he said.

“I think it won’t be too long before we have at least the full situation mapped out, all the elements of the discussion, and at that point we can come forward and make a recommendation to the chief of naval operations regarding expansion of the program,” Richardson said.

One of the things he said he must weigh is how to configure the smaller vessels. The Navy initially said the big subs are large enough that female officers can have their own rooms. As for bathrooms, the solution has been to hang a sign on the door letting people know if males or females are inside.

“We want to open this opportunity as widely as we can, but we want to make sure it’s sustainable,” Richardson said.

As for adding enlisted women to submarine crews, he said the considerations are the same.

At least one female submarine officer who participated in a news conference Thursday said she would be interested in serving on the smaller subs. She said their mission, which includes hunting enemy subs and ships, is attractive to her.

“All of the history and lore of the submarine community really comes back to those really awesome missions that fast attacks do. If it were to be opened, I think there are some of us who probably would be willing to serve on them despite the tight quarters,” said Lt. j.g. Vanessa Esch, now serving on the submarine Ohio in Bangor, Wash.

“A big reason why I think a lot of us joined the sub community was to go out there and do that work.”

Submariners get extra pay for good reason: It’s a tough job. Submarines deploy more frequently than many other kinds of Navy vessels and often stay below the surface for weeks at a time. As a result, the submarine community is extremely tightknit.

Women submarine officers described the job as extremely demanding, but they also talked about the joys of the calling.

“When you hear klaxon go off — that’s the alarm you sound before you dive the ship — and then you dive,” said Lt. Britta Christianson, assigned to the Ohio. “That’s the time you think, ‘Oh my God, I’m on a submarine. This is so cool.’ ”